Birmingham City are thought to be in talks with an EFL star after clinching promotion back to the Championship.

Birmingham City going for silverware after League One promotion

The Blues have had a brilliant campaign under Chris Davies and sealed promotion back to the Championship at the first time of asking in midweek.

A 2-1 victory at Peterborough United sealed a guaranteed top-two spot, and the League One title could also be won if Wrexham fail to beat Wigan Athletic on Saturday lunchtime.

Birmingham are on course to comfortably clear the 100-point mark in the third tier, however, they are actually preparing for Wembley this weekend.

The Blues will once again take on Peterborough in the final of the EFL Trophy, so it could be a double celebration if things go to plan this weekend.

Birmingham eyeing free deal to sign "fantastic" Championship contract rebel

He’s yet to sign a new deal at his current club.

ByTom Cunningham Apr 8, 2025

Ahead of the summer transfer window, Tom Wagner and Tom Brady already appear to be working on St Andrew’s signings ahead of the 2025/26 Championship campaign, and one player who the Blues will face this weekend is a target.

Birmingham City in talks to sign Kwame Poku for free

According to journalist Graeme Bailey, talking to EFL Analysis, Birmingham City are in talks to sign Peterborough United star Kwame Poku.

The 23-year-old actually scored the Posh’s goal against the Blues in midweek and has enjoyed a fine season in the third tier.

However, according to Bailey, Birmingham aren’t the only side in discussions, including Premier League side Crystal Palace and Scottish giants Rangers.

“His people are in talks with a number of clubs – and yes, one of them is Birmingham. There are others, though – Crystal Palace, Millwall, Luton and Norwich among them.

“However, the big danger is Rangers – they want him and have watched him numerous times. Talks have continued but complicated by their takeover and then new manager.”

Games

27

Goals

12

Assists

11

Minutes played

2,081

The winger has impressed Sky Sports co-commentator and pundit Don Goodman this season, who said last month that Poku appears to be ready for the step up to the Championship.

“Kwame Poku, 10 goals and six assists this season from just 20 games, 19 starts, is very impressive. It’s on the back of 11 goals and seven assists last season.

“He’s been on my radar for a couple of seasons now, along with Ephron Mason-Clarke, who is now doing really, really well at Coventry.

“So whether he’s ready for the Premier League just yet is a debate to be had, but certainly if I was a Championship club and I needed an exciting, ball-carrying winger that both scores and creates goals, he would be on my radar.”

It looks as if a move to the Midlands will be one to watch over the coming months, with Poku actually out of contract at the end of the season, meaning a transfer may not cost a penny.

No.3 scores 101 off 44 balls to feast on a below-par Middlesex attack

ECB Reporters Network02-Jun-2024

Michael Pepper scored 101 off 44 balls•Getty Images

Michael Pepper led the carnage with a hard-hitting century, spiced with six sixes, to get Essex’s Vitality Blast campaign up and running with a four-wicket victory over Middlesex at Chelmsford.Last year’s finalists had lost their opening two matches down in the West Country against Gloucestershire and Somerset, but bounced back with a vengeance as Essex’s batters feasted on a below-par Middlesex attack.Pepper came in at 14 for 1 and was finally out for 101 with just 15 runs required. He put on 83 with Dean Elgar (32) for the second wicket to spark the run chase into action. Jordan Cox hammered 22 from eight balls, Matt Critchley 16 from 11, but they were merely supporting players as Essex got home with 14 balls to spare.Middlesex’s innings was underpinned by an unbeaten 85 from 42 balls from Max Holden and set in motion by 49 from 31 balls by opener Martin Andersson. But they have now lost their first two games of the season.Middlesex, put in, overcame the loss of Stevie Eskinazi to the seventh ball of the innings when he feathered Aaron Beard to a flying leg-side catch by wicketkeeper Adam Rossington. A second-wicket stand of 65 in six overs between Andersson and Ryan Higgins set the platform for the visitors to post 203 for 7, a significant improvement on their 107 all out against Kent on Friday.Higgins survived a dropped catch by Pepper at point on 5 and had advanced to 27 from 23 balls when he misjudged one from Matt Critchley and was stumped.Andersson hit five fours and three sixes in almost doubling his previous highest T20 score of 25 to be third out with the score in 93. However, the ball after he had pulled Luc Benkenstein over midwicket for six, his attempt to cut the same bowler ended up in the hands of backward gully.Holden was also given a life on 10 when Beard rushed in from deep square leg and failed to hang on, and he made Simon Harmer pay with two sixes in an over lofted straight down the ground. A single cut off Walter took him to a 26-ball fifty.But he lost fourth-wicket partner Joe Cracknell after the pair had put on 62 runs. Cracknell had just scooped Beard for six over square leg when he was caught at the second attempt by Daniel Sams. Two balls later Josh de Caires was cleaned out swishing at a full-length ball from Paul Walter.Jack Davies followed soon after, lobbing the ball into the covers off Sams, who in his next over accounted for Luke Hollman, caught on the deep point boundary. But Holden remained and he hit the Australian for his fifth six and eighth four in the last over to take Middlesex past 200.In reply, Rossington eased Tom Helm over square leg for six, but then fell to a spectacular grab high to his right by Davies. That brought in Pepper, who smashed Blake Cullen for four blistered boundaries in an over and added two more off Helm in the next to accelerate the Essex scoring rate.Elgar could only watch and admire at the other end but joined the party with a swept six off Noah Cornwell to bring up 50 inside five overs, with the half-century stand taking just 22 balls. A second six from the South African cleared a sightscreen and Pepper deposited another into the Pavilion seating before another took him to his own fifty from 20 balls.The partnership was worth 83 when Elgar departed for 32 to a catch at deep extra cover off de Caires. It did not stop the agony for Middlesex as Cox’s brief innings included two sixes that sailed out of the ground, before he picked out an in-rushing deep midwicket to give Higgins a wicket.Pepper had not finished and ramped Higgins effortlessly over fine leg for another maximum and lofted Cullen for another into the Pavilion. A sixth over midwicket took him to a 43-ball century that ended next ball when he was lbw to Hollman.

In a recent five-match T20I series, Namibia had beaten Oman but only just, winning 3-2

Abhimanyu Bose02-Jun-20243:02

A big task ahead for Oman against confident Namibia

Match details

Namibia vs Oman
Bridgetown, 8.30pm local

Big picture

Playing in their third consecutive T20 World Cup, Namibia will be looking to build on impressive previous showings. In 2021, they had surprised many by qualifying for Super 12s – at the expense of Ireland and Netherlands – and in 2022 they beat Sri Lanka in the first round, but fell short of progressing.They made it to T20 World Cup 2024 by dominating the Africa qualifier, winning all six of their games. With England and Australia also in their group, they will know that their best shot at the Super 8s involves beating Oman and Scotland and then pulling off an upset.But Oman, their first opponents, could offer tough competition. When the two teams faced off in a five-match T20I series in April, Oman ran Namibia close, with Namibia eventually sealing a 3-2 win.Oman, also making their third T20 World Cup appearance, come into the tournament with momentum on their side. They reached the ACC Premier Cup final, winning five games on the trot, although they lost to UAE in the final. They have a new captain for this World Cup, with Aqib Ilyas replacing the experienced Zeeshan Maqsood in the role.

Form guide

Namibia WWLLW (last five T20Is, most recent first)
Oman LWWWW

In the spotlight – David Wiese and Aqib Ilyas

David Wiese, one of the biggest reasons behind Namibia’s impressive campaign in 2021, has since become a T20 globetrotter, playing in several franchise leagues including the IPL, the Hundred and the PSL. He has also played the CPL and MLC, giving him a feel of the conditions on offer by T20 World Cup’s two hosts. Namibia would hope that the experience he has gained over the last few years will set him up for a good campaign, as he is key to their plans with bat and ball.Aqib Ilyas, apart from being a top-order batter, is also a more-than-handy spinner. He was the leading wicket-taker in the ACC Premier Cup with 12 scalps from five matches at an economy of 6.22. In the series decider against Namibia, he picked up 2 for 21 from three overs and then struck a 29-ball 51 in an unsuccessful chase of 213. Namibia will be wary of the threat he poses, but how he deals with the added responsibility of leading the team will have to be seen.David Wiese will be key to Namibia’s plans with bat and ball•ICC via Getty

Team news

Namibia could field an XI with as many as seven bowling options, while their potential No. 9 Ruben Trumpelmann is no mug with the bat.Namibia (probable XI): 1 Nikolas Davin, 2 Jean-Pierre Kotze, 3 Michael van Lingen, 4 Gerhard Erasmus (capt), 5 JJ Smit, 6 David Wiese, 7 Jan Frylinck, 8 Zane Green (wk), 9 Ruben Trumpelmann, 10 Bernard Scholtz, 11 Ben ShikongoOman also have plenty of bowling options among their top- and middle-order batters. They could put out the same line-up that played in the final of the Premier Cup.Oman (probable XI): 1 Kashyap Prajapati, 2 Naseem Khushi (wk), 3 Aqib Ilyas (capt), 4 Zeeshan Maqsood, 5 Pratik Athavale (wk), 6 Ayaan Khan, 7 Khalid Kail, 8 Shakeel Ahmad, 9 Rafiullah, 10 Fayyaz Butt, 11 Bilal Khan

Pitch and conditions

In the past, batters have found it difficult to score off spinners in Bridgetown. It’s not a particularly high-scoring ground, and in 12 games at the venue since the start of 2022, the average first-innings score has been 178. Teams batting first have won eight of those 12 matches.There is a 40% chance of rain, but it’s not expected to last more than half an hour even if it does pour.

Stats that matter

• One of Namibia’s many allrounders, their captain Gerhard Erasmus, has been in excellent bowling form. He has taken a wicket in eight of his last ten matches, and has not conceded more than run a ball in any of those games.
• Bilal Khan, Oman’s 37-year-old fast bowler, had an economy rate of 4.45 from three matches in the 2021 T20 World Cup.
• Maqsood, Mehran Khan and Bilal are the only three players from Oman’s squad in their first T20 World Cup campaign in 2016 to be part of this year’s squad.

Quotes

“Now that I am leading the side, I have more responsibilities. I have to be more smart and give my 100%. We have worked really hard in the past, in the camp and everything. Now when we step onto the field, it’s just the mind game, presence and game awareness. I am looking for some big performances, to get at least two Man of the Matches in the first round.”

The Sylhet pitch is refreshingly different when it comes to Bangladesh, where fast bowlers have had a great time so far with the top layer of live grass on the surface, a rarity in the country. The true nature of the pitch also allows the batters to free their arms whenever a bowler strays in length.Sri Lanka’s fast bowlers, therefore, kept things as tight as possible on their way to all ten of Bangladesh’s wickets in their first innings of the first Test across Friday and Saturday. This was the first time Sri Lanka’s quicks have achieved the feat since Johannesburg 2021.Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara and Kasun Rajitha showed exactly where the Bangladesh fast bowlers had missed a trick on the first day. They stuck to the off-stump and outside-off channel, and didn’t try anything different or fancy for long periods.Related

• Bangladesh top-order batters must learn from Taijul & Co to stay in the contest

• Bangladesh's fast-bowling evolution bears fruit in green Sylhet

• Kamindu Mendis: 'I worked tirelessly to get to this point'

• Vishwa, Kumara, Rajitha keep SL ahead on another bowlers' day

Vishwa took four wickets, which included Zakir Hasan and Najmul Hossain Shanto, both lbw, on the first evening. Rajitha had Mominul Haque on the first day and broke nightwatcher Taijul Islam’s resistance on the second, drawing the outside edge from both batters. He also removed Mehidy Hasan Miraz with a good-length ball that the allrounder tried to pull, only to get a leading edge to point. Kumara, playing his first Test after 12 months, removed Mahmudul Hasan Joy and Shahadat Hossain with awaygoing deliveries. Litton Das fell inside-edging a Kumara delivery that nipped back in.It left Sri Lanka’s fast-bowling coach Dharshana Gamage rather pleased. “They bowled really well to get all ten wickets,” he said. “There was a bit of help from the wicket as well. There is a good layer of grass and it was bouncing also. They stuck to their basics, sticking on top of off-stump all day. That’s why they got success.”Our basic plan, what we spoke about the most, was discipline. It was because of our discipline that we were successful and ultimately able to get all ten wickets. We bowled in the right areas, bowled good spells. From both ends, we developed good bowling partnerships. That’s what we really focused on achieving.”He said that the target with Vishwa has been to keep him mentally ready for Tests as it has been his main format.Lahiru Kumara took three wickets on the second morning•AFP/Getty Images

“I think Vishwa plays Tests more than any other format. Domestically, he plays well in white-ball cricket as well. But in terms of international Test cricket, the number of matches he gets to play isn’t all that much. So we worked very hard to bring and keep him at this level,” Gamage said. “What we’re always looking at is how to keep him physically and mentally prepared for Test cricket. Because we know there are a fair few gaps between Tests, so that’s not something that is easy to deal with. Vishwa, however, works extremely hard to stay sharp and keep his rhythm.”As for Kumara, Gamage said that he, too, had worked on developing his bowling endurance after his return from a long injury layoff. “He has had some injuries in the last few years. We have worked hard on workload in the last couple of months,” Gamage said. “We try to bowl few long spells in practice to get used to bowling in Test cricket. He is in good shape at the moment. He showed that he could bowl consistently in the right areas and cause a lot of problems.”Since Chris Silverwood’s arrival as Sri Lanka head coach, the fast bowlers have shown discipline at bowling on and outside the off stump. They are without Asitha Fernando, but Kumara can stake a good enough claim to be in Sri Lanka’s first-choice pace attack. Vishwa and Rajitha too have made themselves Test regulars. The Test isn’t over, and the pace trio will likely have to put in another big shift to close it out.

Manchester City have officially confirmed the departure of Brazilian winger Kayky to Bahia in a permanent deal. After having signed with the Citizens for £9 million ($12m)in 2021, the youngster failed to cement a first-team role and spent most of his time on loan. As City begin reshaping their squad, Kayky’s exit marks the start of more expected changes at the Etihad this summer.

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Kayky completes permanent transfer from Man City to BahiaBrazilian winger made just one Premier League appearanceCity expected to offload more players in coming weeksFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Kayky joined Manchester City from Fluminense with high expectations but made just one Premier League appearance. He featured primarily for the Elite Development Squad before going on loans to Pacos de Ferreira, Sparta Rotterdam, and Bahia. A serious Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury in 2023 further derailed his chances of breaking into Guardiola’s plans.

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Manchester City have now confirmed Kayky's permanent transfer to Bahia, where he spent the second half of last season. The move brings closure to a disappointing spell in Manchester for the 22-year-old. The club is now focused on trimming the squad and offloading fringe players as they plan to improve the squad after their immense failure in the 2024-25 season.

DID YOU KNOW?

Kayky was highly rated in Brazil and made an early impression in City’s U23s, helping them win the Premier League 2 title. However, his senior breakthrough never materialised, and injuries stunted his momentum. Brazilian side Bahia, part of the City Football Group, have thus opted to bring him back permanently.

WHAT NEXT FOR MAN CITY?

Guardiola's side are expected to continue their summer clear-out, with Kalvin Phillips, Jack Grealish and Kyle Walker among potential exits. Reinforcements are also being lined up in midfield and defence. Guardiola is aiming to refresh the squad ahead of another demanding campaign.

The playmaker's relationship with his new boss will be fascinating to watch after being plagued by accusations of an attitude problem

Whenever footballers talk to the media, the club's press officer is hoping they will say as little as possible and ideally stay out of the headlines. As Peter Crouch put it: "You're doing an interview for the newspaper but you're trying not to be in the newspaper. They were so nervous about you putting your foot in it."

Rayan Cherki opted for a very different approach when speaking to journalists for the first time since joining Manchester City. In just a five-minute exchange with reporters in Florida as City were preparing for their opening game at the Club World Cup, he left a real impression.

He outlined his ambitions to win the Ballon d'Or, saying Rodri's success in 2024 showed him that City offered a platform to become the best player in the world. And, in a statement that immediately endeared him to his new club's supporters, he said he wanted to "kill" Manchester United after Lyon's painful Europa League defeat to the Red Devils in April. Before that quarter-final tie, incidentally, he said he was "ready to go to war" with Ruben Amorim's side.

Cherki's opening statements would not have surprised anyone who has followed the Frenchman's career. He has always looked to make a mark and often has done, having become Lyon's youngest-ever goal-scorer at the age of 16 before more than one coach complained about his attitude, which was regarded as his biggest obstacle to progress.

Still, Cherki can do remarkable things on the pitch, and last season finally found the consistency he craved, contributing to 34 goals in 44 appearances. His uptick in productivity led to his long-awaited first call up to the France senior team and he marked his debut against Spain by setting himself up to score a tremendous volley in the Nations League semi-finals.

That form has also earned him a move to one of the top clubs in the world, and now Cherki has the chance to showcase his talent on the world stage. His audacious comments merely confirmed his reputation as a maverick, but the big question now is: Will this ultimate individual be able to thrive under Pep Guardiola?

• Getty
  

  Street player to 'rest station'

  Cherki's signing for City immediately led to comparisons with when Jack Grealish arrived at the Etihad Stadium for a Premier League-record transfer fee of £100 million ($135m) as a frighteningly talented playmaker, only to have all his creative tendencies stamped out of him by Guardiola.

  Grealish was heralded as a street footballer at Aston Villa, but at City he has been given the rather less flattering description of 'the rest station'. His role under Guardiola has primarily been to hug the touchline with the ball and hold on to it so the team can reset and his team-mates can get forward to progress the move.

  The treble-winning season of 2022-23 was Grealish's only good campaign out of four at the Etihad Stadium, and now he is seen as an outcast having been left out of the Club World Cup squad to try and find a new club after starting just seven Premier League games this past season, before not getting on the pitch for the FA Cup final as he was overlooked for teenage debutant Claudio Echeverri at Wembley. Grealish was also the victim of some less than complimentary comments from Guardiola, who revealed publicly that Savinho was in better shape than the England international.

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• Getty
  

  Zlatan's refusal to conform

  Cherki's arrival at City has also led to thought of Zlatan Ibrahimovic's disastrous season under Guardiola at Barcelona. The Swede famously lambasted the Catalan's methods in his autobiography, likening the atmosphere Guardiola had created within the squad to a school. Ibrahimovic simply did not fit in and did not want to follow his coach's orders to behave and conform. It all came to a head after Barca were knocked out of the Champions League semi-finals by Ibrahimovic's former club Inter, after which the striker told Guardiola "You have no balls."

  In his revealing autobiography, 'I Am Zlatan'Ibrahimovic wrote: "I had done a lot to adapt – the Barca players were like schoolboys, following the coach blindly, whereas I was used to asking ‘Why?'. I like guys who run red lights, not pedantic and strict rules. I tried to be overly nice, didn’t dare lose my temper.

  "But after this I stopped trying to adapt. For example, at Barcelona, players were banned from driving their sports cars to training. I thought this was ridiculous – it was certainly not the club’s business what car I drive – so in April, before a match with Almeria, I drove my Ferrari Enzo to training and it caused a scene. When you buy me, you are buying a Ferrari. If you drive a Ferrari, you put premium petrol in the tank, you hit the motorway and you step on the gas. Guardiola filled up with diesel and took a spin in the countryside. He should have bought a Fiat."

  Watch every FIFA Club World Cup game free on DAZNStream now

• Getty
  

  'Not a special player'

  Cherki has not yet scaled the heights that Grealish and Ibrahimovic had before they linked up with Guardiola, but there have been several instances of the ex-Lyon man having a Diva-esque attitude which could lead to him running into problems with his new boss at some point.

  In his breakthrough season with Lyon in 2019-2020, Cherki demanded to return to the youth team in protest at being left on the bench for a Ligue 1 game against Bordeaux. But he did not play well when back in the academy ranks, and his own father was heard shouting at him: "If you don't want to play, get off the pitch."

  Rudi Garcia, the coach who gave Cherki his debut, warned early on about the danger of him getting carried away by the hype that was building around him. He said: "We all keep telling him that he will have the career he deserves if he continues to work. The danger is to make him believe that he is already one of the best players on the planet."

  Garcia's successor, Peter Bosz, had no interest in paying Cherki special attention and used him sporadically during his tenure. "I know that Cherki is very popular, it's great for him and for the fans," he explained. "I choose my players to win the match every week. If I see that we can win with Rayan he will start, otherwise it will be another player."

  Laurent Blanc revealed he had "some heated discussions" with Cherki over his tendency to play for himself rather than the collective, but Fabio Grosso proved to be the most critical of the playmaker, saying: "He's a player, not a special player. He's a player like any other, albeit with some additional qualities. But it’s not just technical qualities that matter; there are mental and athletic qualities as well."

• AFP
  

  Silencing the critics

  Cherki began to really show his worth under Grosso's successor Pierre Sage, albeit after a spell on the fringes of the Lyon team and then another period of being left out at the start of last season amid a contract stand-off with the club. He made a typically emphatic return to action by scoring a few minutes after coming off the bench against Marseille, the start of a run of five goals and seven assists between September and December. When Sage was eventually sacked in January, Cherki paid him an emotional tribute, saying: "He leaves behind an exceptional legacy."

  Cherki also showed leadership under his final boss at Lyon, Paulo Fonseca. The Portuguese was slapped with a nine-month touchline ban in domestic matches for confronting a referee, and in their next match, against FCSB in the Europa League, Lyon's players mobbed Fonseca. Cherki said afterwards: "We felt a sense of injustice before the match, we wanted to give everything for him." He backed up those words by notchin five goals and 15 assists in 19 matches under Fonseca.

  Cherki certainly believes he has knuckled down in the last few years and worked on the areas of his game that were previously lacking: "I think I had the best season of my career, I managed to make people talk only about good things: my passes, dribbling. I don’t hear many people talking about the unfounded criticism I faced. I think I took a step forward in all aspects: my efficiency, defensive work, efforts without the ball. Everyone knows my offensive style, dribbling, passing. That’s not what I worked on most, I instead worked on knowing what I wanted to become, which makes the difference."

Whilst Birmingham City did splash out some serious cash to land Jay Stansfield last summer, the Blues did also operate rather shrewdly before the 2024/25 campaign got underway.

The eventual League One champions didn’t go overboard when landing potent goal machine Alfie May, with the decision to fork out a respectable £775k for the 31-year-old’s services more than paying off, considering the ex-Charlton Athletic man would go on to bag 17 strikes in all competitions.

Already, Birmingham have displayed this astute approach once more by recently snapping up Phil Neumann on a free transfer, with another rumour now suggesting that Chris Davies’ men aren’t finished there with savvy purchases.

Birmingham could soon land another golden deal

Unsurprisingly, the Tom Wagner-backed Blues have also been linked with some star names ahead of Championship action returning to St Andrew’s.

Indeed, Che Adams has been heavily linked with an audacious move back to the second-tier side, alongside Kwame Poku also being tipped to swap Peterborough United for a fresh location in the league above.

But, one move that is slipping under the radar in contrast is Birmingham’s hunt for Kanya Fuijmoto, with journalist Sebastião Sousa-Pinto revealing via his social media that Davies’ men are now moving towards an advanced stage in their attempts to sign the Japanese ace on a free transfer having already submitted a bid for the player.

If they were to land the Gil Vicente midfielder for nothing, this might go down as yet another golden deal where Birmingham don’t lavishly break the bank.

Further, Fuijmoto has the potential to be as popular as Tomoki Iwata in the midfield department at St. Andrew’s, with Iwata once a rather unknown entity to Blues fans – much like his fellow Japanese counterpart – before he more than exploded into life.

How Fuijmoto could be Birmingham's Iwata 2.0

Away from sharing the same nationality, the pair also possess a similar eye for goal and carving out chances centrally.

After all, Iwata would close out his debut campaign in England with a high eight goals and two assists from 47 overall contests.

Akin to the former Celtic man, the Vicente number ten would pick up five goals and five assists himself from 31 games over the same time span, with a hope in the air that he can potentially adapt to the hustle and bustle of Championship life well by putting in similarly electric performances in attack.

He could well offer more competition to the aforementioned Stansfield in the number 10 spot just behind the main centre-forward, therefore, alongside also being capable of slotting into a more traditional central role next to his Japanese compatriot based off his numbers below.

Games played

40

30

Goals scored

6

5

Assists

1

5

Touches*

67.1

34.6

Accurate passes*

49.7 (89%)

20.3 (83%)

Big chances created

4

8

Big chances missed

1

3

As can be seen looking at the table above, both players in question stand out as classy operators on the ball.

A “silky” midfielder – as he’s been previously lauded by analyst Ben Mattinson – he is more of an attack-oriented body that will push forward, compared with Iwata who will likely sit back and then burst into attack when necessary.

This could well be an intriguing partnership to watch next season as they work out each other’s varied games, with the extra addition of Fujimoto perhaps boosting Davies’ men even more in the forward areas as they embark on an initially challenging Championship step-up.

Whatever does happen, at least Birmingham aren’t dropping lots of money on the 25-year-old’s services.

But, as was shown with Iwata – who entered for around the £800k range – sometimes these are the deals that end up being the standout swoops.

60 EFL goals: Birmingham could sign their answer to Vardy this summer

Birmingham City could be about to land their own version of Jamie Vardy with this statement purchase.

ByKelan Sarson May 15, 2025

Fulham could have to fork out one club’s record transfer sale to sign a “monster” defender this summer, with their manager personally making his demands clear behind-the-scenes.

Marco Silva previews Fulham clash with Liverpool

The Whites have an all-important, blockbuster clash to prepare for as Marco Silva’s side take on Premier League frontrunners Liverpool in their race for European qualification.

Club "moving" to sign "very important" Fulham star with unique offer planned

Marco Silva’s side could lose him.

By
Emilio Galantini

Apr 3, 2025

Liverpool have won their last four league games and have one hand on this year’s domestic crown. Arne Slot can take an almighty stride to confirming their status as champions of England against Fulham, but Silva will be equally determined to spoil the party with European football on the line.

Fulham’s next five Premier League games	Date
Liverpool (home)	April 6th
Bournemouth (away)	April 14th
Chelsea (home)	April 20th
Southampton (away)	April 26th
Aston Villa (away)	May 3rd

Amid Tottenham’s interest in Silva to replace Ange Postecoglou, these last few games of the season could also serve as a Spurs audition for the 42-year-old if he’s open to that opportunity across London.

“It’s going to be a game that demands us to be close to perfection,” said Silva on Fulham’s clash with Liverpool.

“From our side, we need to fight really hard for the three points. We are in our own battle too. They want the three points to be closer to the title – we want our three points for our own battle.”

Silva adds that he’s expecting a response from his players after their last game, a 2-1 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

“We share the good moments and the good vibes together,” said Silva.

“When you don’t achieve something important, like a football match we want to win, then you have to share the disappointment. But at the same time, we have to work quicker and prepare quicker for the next one – like we have done since the start of the season.”

Off the field, preparations for next season are already underway at Craven Cottage, with the west Londoners making transfer plans.

Fulham have made contact over signing Deportivo La Coruna sensation Yeremay Hernandez, according to TEAMtalk, and strengthening the wide area is seen as a key aim for the club.

Fulham told price for Elfsborg defender Terry Yegbe

Silva’s side also want to reinforce their defence, and have their keen eyes on Elfsborg defender Terry Yegbe.

The Ghana international was rumoured to command a price tag of £4.5 million, but according to news outlet Fotboll Direkt, the actual price for Yegbe stands at closer to £6 million.

While this wouldn’t exactly break the bank for a Premier League side like Fulham, it would apparently smash the record for most money paid for a centre-back from the Swedish Allsvenskan.

As per FD, Fulham are among the main contenders to sign Yegbe this summer, but the Elfsborg manager is personally demanding that a record sale figure of around £6 million to entertain letting the Ghanaian leave.

Yegbe, interestingly, carries a fearsome reputation in Scandanavia, having been called a “monster” defender.

“He is a monster on the field,” said former Elfsborg teammate Ahmed Qasem to Fotbollskanalen’s deadline day broadcast.

“He is too fast, strong and good with his feet. I think he will surprise many in the Allsvenskan.”

One of the most underrated academies in English football could well be that of West Ham United. The Hammers have produced some exceptional players in the Premier League era, some of them going on to have legendary careers, though sadly away from East London.

Perhaps the most famous example is Frank Lampard, who broke through under Harry Redknapp and eventually joined Chelsea, where he became a key player at Stamford Bridge. Rio Ferdinand is another player who came through the Hammers academy, but he moved to Leeds, and then Manchester United, where he was a vital player under Sir Alex Ferguson.

Of course, there are other examples, including Jermaine Defoe, who broke through the first team at Upton Park. There are more recent talents to have come through West Ham’s academy system, who have now left.

Some of West Ham’s biggest academy losses

When you think of West Ham’s academy in the modern-day era, the one player who might spring to mind immediately is Declan Rice. The England international moved to Arsenal in 2023, but certainly left his mark on the London Stadium.

He made 245 appearances for the club, scoring 15 goals and grabbing 13 assists from defensive midfield in that time. He also helped them to win the UEFA Conference League back in 2023, one of his final acts as a West Ham player.

Another player, who people may not know was once a West Ham academy player, is Ayden Heaven. However, he was poached by Arsenal as a youngster, and is now at Old Trafford like Ferdinand once was. So far, the youngster has made two Premier League appearances.

Heaven is not the only former West Ham academy man now plying his trade in Manchester. Striker Divin Mubama joined Manchester City last summer, and he has gone on to play twice this season, scoring once against Salford City in the FA Cup.

However, perhaps the most frustrating loss of an anace,y player in recent years is someone else poached by Man City.

West Ham’s biggest academy loss

Over on the Blue half of Manchester, they are not short of elite talent. However, Divine Mukasa, formerly of West Ham, is arguably one of the most exciting. He was described as a “serious talent” by football analyst Ben Mattinson.

In fact, Mattinson also says he believes Mukasa “would be playing for West Ham’s first team right now if he had stayed”, which further shows just how talented he is. He has certainly reached an exceptionally high level this season.

Muksas’s numbers for City’s under-18s this term are nothing short of incredible. In 25 games in the Under-18s Premier League and the FA Youth Cup, a competition in which City are in the final, he has managed 17 goals and 21 assists.

To break that down further, he has found the back of the net 16 times and created 15 goals for his teammates in the league, making just 20 appearances. In just five FA Youth Cup games, he’s grabbed a phenomenal six assists.

Mukasa has also stood out in the UEFA Youth League for City, and his underlying numbers via Sofascore show how well he has played. In eight games, he averaged 1.7 key passes per game and completed 0.6 dribbles.

Minutes

54.1

433

Assists

0.6

3

Key passes

1.7

8

Dribbles completed

0.6

3

Tackles and interceptions

1

5

In a West Ham shirt for the under-18s, Mukasa’s record was not as good as it was for City. He managed just one goal and one assist in ten games, playing 610 minutes, the equivalent of 6.7 full 90-minute games.

Based on his sparkling form in the Etihad youth ranks, it might not be long before he earns his chance in Pep Guardiola’s first-team ranks, with the Irons left faced with the prospect of witnessing one of their own go on to shine elsewhere – much like with the case of three-time Premier League winner and all-time top Chelsea goalscorer, Lampard.

There is no doubt that fumbling Mukasa was a real error by the Hammers. His talent is clear to see, and he could have had an impact in their side this season, if only they had managed to keep hold of him two years ago.

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Hardik Pandya, the Mumbai Indians captain, felt Matheesha Pathirana was the difference between the two sides on Sunday night as the heavyweight clash billed as the IPL’s “” ended in victory for Chennai Super Kings.Pathirana, who missed CSK’s last two games with a hamstring niggle, was a late inclusion. And he finished with figures of 4 for 28; this included the wickets of Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav in his very first over, the eighth of the innings, to put the skids on Mumbai after a 70-run opening stand.”Definitely it was gettable,” Hardik said of Mumbai’s 207-run target. “But I think they bowled pretty well, Pathirana was the difference. He came and got the wickets, at the same time they were also quite smart with their approach. They used the longer boundary well.Related

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“It was about batting well and keeping our intent, which we did till Pathirana came in. We were on course to get the total, those couple of wickets [in his first over] we lost set us back. From there we were chasing the game.”CSK had a number of bowlers who used their slower variations well and bowled into the pitch to extract something off the deck in the face of some dew. Shardul Thakur was taken for 33 off his first three overs, but came back superbly in his final over to concede just two to deny a set Rohit Sharma and Hardik with Mumbai needing 77 off 36.Then Tushar Deshpande got into the act, dismissing Hardik by having him hole out to the longer boundary at deep midwicket. Soon, the equation turned into a daunting 72 off 24. Pathirana then came back for his final over to send back the big-hitting Romario Shepherd with a fuller ball that splayed his stumps.While it was natural for Pathirana to get the spotlight after his four-for, CSK bowling consultant Eric Simons felt Thakur and Deshpande turned the game. “The unsung heroes tonight were Tushar and Shardul,” Simons said at the post-match press conference. “Shardul bowled one of the best overs I have ever seen. At that stage they were looking at 12s-13s an over, the game’s very much in the balance. He bowls the over and it goes up at 14. The game turned there.”Matheesha will get a lot of accolades and he deserves it because of the way he bowled and the breakthroughs he gave us. But those two gentlemen did extremely well for us to push the rate out of reach out of MI.”Tushar is a very intelligent bowler. Our conversations are around his tactics, his understanding of conditions and oppositions. One of the things we try and do is make sure bowlers have clarity when they arrive at game and they know exactly what they have to do and also understand the tactics. So not just what the tactic is but also why it is like that. And he has a very clear understanding of the tactic and also why it is like that.”Hardik Pandya’s Mumbai Indians came out second best in the IPL’s “El Classico”•AFP via Getty ImagesThat CSK’s bowlers found themselves with 206 to defend was down to Shivam Dube’s 38-ball 66 and Dhoni’s cameo – including three sixes in the final over. For much of Dube’s innings, Hardik held his spinners back and preferred to go with pace into the wicket. Offspinner Mohammad Nabi bowled three overs for 19, while Shreyas Gopal, their legspinner, bowled just one over.”It was about what was best at that point,” Hardik said of his tactic to hold back his spinners. “In hindsight we can see how we could’ve used our spinners and done something different, but in the longer term I like to play with what I can work with, that’s percentage cricket. On that wicket, for seamers, it was much more difficult for him [Dube] to do what he did [to pacers] than to the spinners.”The defeat was Mumbai’s fourth in six games. It broke a sequence of two straight wins. Currently eighth on the table, they now get on the road for four away fixtures and are in need of a big second half to remain in contention for the playoffs.In looking for this, Hardik wants the team to keep it simple. “We just need to keep our intensity high, be smart about our plans,” he said. “If we can do that, we can get the goal we want.”